Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Patience, Learning, Perseverance, and Faith are Steps ...

We have so many hurting people who just want to give in all areas of their life.

There is hope, though.

One of the most encouraging verss to me is to be able to say "I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Psalm 23:6. Can you say the same?

Recently I've been encouraged with my walk and want to share some thoughts that will encourage you to press on, keep the faith, and remember that God is faithful.

Charles Spurgeon and his wife, according to a story in Chaplain Magazine, would sell but refuse to give away the eggs their chickens laid. Even close relatives, were told, "You may have them if you pay for them."

As a result, some people labeled the Spurgeons as greedy and grasping.

They accepted the criticism without defending themselves, and only after Mrs. Spurgeon died was the full story revealed:
All the profits from the sale of the eggs went to support two elderly widows. Because the Spurgeons were unwilling to let their left hand know
what the right was doing (Matt. 6:3), they endured the attacks in silence.

We, as Christians, sometimes endure attacks in silence. Because of bad relationships, cliques, petty disagreements, majoring in minors, or gossip, we see that the church is not the way God intended it to be. We fight over issues, music, conservativism, racism etc.

What is the answer? Leave? Complain? Just sit there? No.

The answer is to endure like the Spurgeons, to try to change the church within, for surely we need to dwell in the House of the Lord forever. We can learn to endure, learn from our failures.

Learning from our failures calls for perseverance. James 1:4 says "Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."